Honoring their sacrifices

Slain San Joaquin County officers remembered in somber ceremony

STOCKTON - Flags flew at half-staff as hundreds gathered near the front steps of the Stockton Police Department on Wednesday to remember law enforcement officers who lost their lives while serving communities in San Joaquin County.

STOCKTON - Flags flew at half-staff as hundreds gathered near the front steps of the Stockton Police Department on Wednesday to remember law enforcement officers who lost their lives while serving communities in San Joaquin County.

Local law enforcement officials joined agencies across the country in honoring fallen officers as part of National Peace Officer Memorial Week. Police Chief Eric Jones, Sheriff Steve Moore and Stockton Police Officers' Association President Kathryn Nance spoke at a podium flanked by colorful wreaths and a granite memorial commemorating officers who died in the line of duty.

"This monument memorializes 18 individuals from law enforcement agencies in San Joaquin County and reminds us all that we owe them much more than words can ever begin to express," Moore said.

Nance opened a solemn ceremony with inspiring remarks before introducing dignitaries such as Stockton City Manager Bob Deis and the families of fallen Stockton police Officers Timothy White, Floyd Bristol and Jason Christensen.

"Every year, the law enforcement agencies in San Joaquin County come together to honor those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice," Nance said. "These officers were courageous protectors of our community. A definition of courage, which can be attributed to author Ambrose Redmoon, is as follows: 'Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.' Every day, the officers on the street - and the officers who are honored here today - have displayed this definition of courage."

Chaplain Kevin White led a prayer, asking God to "bless" and "protect" the officers. White's brother, Timothy, died after being beaten into a coma during a traffic stop in 1990.

Jones paid homage to 120 officers nationwide who died in the line of duty in 2012 and 40 others who have died this year, including Galt police Officer Kevin Tonn, who was shot by a robbery suspect Jan. 12.

Jones referred to fallen officers in Riverside, where Officer Mike Crain was ambushed Feb. 7 by former Los Angeles police Officer Christopher Dorner, and San Bernardino, where Detective Jeremiah MacKay was gunned down days later in a shootout with Dorner. Jones also alluded to the Boston bombings and the ensuing manhunt that resulted in the deaths of four people, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier.

"Throughout the state and across the nation, law enforcement agencies and communities are coming together during Peace Officer Memorial Week to recognize those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may all live in safer communities," Jones said. "We are reminded today of the extreme challenges peace officers face on a daily basis. Not only must they address a multitude of social issues, but also they are the line between law-abiding, orderly communities and an increasingly violent criminal element. Nothing could be more evident of this than what recently occurred in Boston, Watertown and Newtown."

Nance noted that no officers died in the line of duty in San Joaquin County in 2012. The last officer killed on duty in the county was Ripon police Officer Robert Winget, who died in an all-terrain vehicle accident while patrolling a remote area near the Stanislaus River in 2007. Winget's name is etched in gold on the granite memorial along with 17 others who have died on the job since 1854.

"All of the officers listed on the memorial here to my right knew the risk of death involved in being a law enforcement officer, but they never thought it would happen to them," Jones said. "It is important that we, as survivors, recognize that these officers did not die in vain. Our message to their surviving family members is clear: We will always be there for you. You are part of our law enforcement family. We have the deepest respect and honor for your loved ones, and they will be remembered always."